


Operation Evergreen

by Ononymous



Series: Christmas 2020 Stories and Requests [3]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Tree, Gen, Post-Undertale Pacifist Route
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:54:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28363494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ononymous/pseuds/Ononymous
Summary: When Undyne is involved in helping with getting ready for the holidays, you have one of two methodologies: Self-reliant, fast and chaotic, or group-coordinated and organised. Some things can't be done alone. Or at least shouldn't.
Series: Christmas 2020 Stories and Requests [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2074179
Kudos: 9





	Operation Evergreen

The cohort had departed the town shortly after dawn, though given the time of year that wasn't particularly early. They now marched through the snowy woods with strict military discipline, although everyone was dressed in an array of clashing colours. Only two of them, the married dogs taking the lead, wore matching outfits of dark grey. Two more dogs on the flanks wore orange and yellow coats over their armour. The final dog bringing up the rear was content in his pink tank top. The core group the guards were escorting had a skeleton in red gloves and boots over a white battlebody, and a blue scaled woman in a leather jacket, magical spear ready to strike out at any assailant. At the very center was the tallest member of the group, wearing a bright green jumper with red stripes, and a cheeky looking deer embroidered on his stomach. A yellow scarf around his neck clashed with the outfit. The final member sat upon his shoulders, a young human dressed in four layers of purple clothing by their mother before heading out.

"WHAT ABOUT THAT ONE?" asked Papyrus, pointing at a nearby tree.

"The branches look rather threadbare," said Asgore, slowing to get a look. "Very few needles remaining on the lower level. Poor thing, I bet you if I took care of it, pruned it, treated it with anti-fungal tonics by this time next year-"

"Hey! Stay focused, Asgore!"

"Oh, sorry Undyne." He patted the human holding onto his horns. "Still comfortable up there?"

"Mm-hmm!"

"Lovely."

The march continued its steady progress, Asgore resting a hand on Undyne's shoulder to keep her warm with his magic. The only time any sort of disorder was apparent was when the outer defence perimeter changes positions every now and then, each dog clambering to their new spot as if a ball had been thrown there. All the while the senior command discussed potential trees and what Asgore would need to do to make them truly suited for their purpose. The sun had reached its low peak in the sky and was already on the downward slope.

"Erm, what about this one?"

The nine companions halted at the king's words, and looked to where he pointed. Two and a half times as tall as Asgore, each visible branch stuffed with luscious green, no signs of injury or illness. A shrub of holly was growing right next to it as well, not a single snowflake on it. Nobody could have asked for a better sign.

"EGADS, IT LOOKS PERFECT, SIRE!" said Papyrus.

"Agreed," said Undyne. "Alright gang, secure and recon!"

The five dogs dropped to all fours and sprang into action. Doggo and Dogamy trotted a wide circle around the tree, sniffing intently. Lesser Dog, Greater Dog and Dogaressa charged at the tree itself and started barking aggressively at it. Soon enough the branches trembled as birds flew away, and a number of balls of fur dropped to the ground and scurried away. Lesser Dog kept trying to chase after them, but a timely intervention from Undyne kept him in line. The branches quickly stilled again, and the dogs got to their feet as two good boys rejoined them. Undyne approached them while Frisk took pictures of the tree.

"Site secure," said Dogaressa.

"I count around fifty hostiles upwind of our position," said Doggo.

"Disagree," said Dogamy, "smelled more like fifty-five. Unsure how many there are downwind, maybe a couple of dozen."

"Picked up two or three canis'," continued Doggo, "might be able to run interference."

"Pretty bad odds," said Undyne, grinning. "For them."

"CAPITAL!" said Papyrus. "SO IS THIS THE ONE, ASGORE?"

Asgore nodded, picking Frisk off his shoulders and putting them down. "Yes, I think we can get this back to down."

"Alright!" Undyne charged the tree, head of her spear reshaping. "Let's get chopping!"

"Undyne, wait-"

_THUNK._

She couldn't have stopped, her own inertia was too strong, but her face clearly showed how she leapt without looking. She still held the makeshift axe in her hand before it vanished, revealing the deep gash in the trunk she had just made. A light tap of something falling onto the snow made all heads turn, to see a nest with two eggs having been dislodged from the force of her blow. Asgore passed her to pick it up and she could tell he was keeping them warm with his magic.

"...sorry..." she muttered.

"It's alright, no harm done." He passed the nest to Papyrus, who went with Frisk to find a nice branch on another tree for the nest. "Besides, I was hoping to uproot the tree entirely and plant it in town. I think it would look lovely in the summer as well. And next year, too."

He placed a large hand over the axemark, and with a green glow Undyne saw new bark grow over the wound, and soon it was as good as old. That wasn't his only trick. The glow around his hands turned orange, and the snow around the tree began to recede with wisps of steam rising into the air, revealing dark ground that visibly softened with the warmth. As he did so, Frisk returned from their nest rellocation, jabbed into their phone and produced shovels and ropes.

"Okay, cool!" shouted Undyne, a little louder than usual to smother her guilt as she grabbed a shovel. "Pap, let's get digging."

"I'LL BE DONE BEFORE THE TREE KNOWS WHAT'S GOING ON!"

"Atta boy!" She pointed at the dogs. "You five, perimeter duty!"

They soon were in position, hind legs tensed and ready to pounce. As Undyne and Papyrus cleared the soil away and began to chart out the roots, Frisk was talking on the phone with someone, while Asgore took it upon himself to make sure his companions had plenty of hot tea to take the edge off the cold, as well as double check the tree for any more nests. The shrub of holly also disappeared into someone's phone. From time to time, one of the dogs barked as their erstwhile enemies probed the defences. Rabbits, squirrels, raccoons, chipmunks, the odd bird, all trying to see who was causing such a ruckus, and maybe somehow drive them off. The sky was a solid pink before an intelligible word could be heard.

"I THINK WE'RE READY," said Papyrus, securing a rope around the higher part of the tree, "ARE YOU SURE YOU CAN PULL IT INTO TOWN, SIR?"

"With Undyne at my side," said Asgore, patting her on the back, "it'll be no problem."

"But that's when they'll make their move," muttered Undyne. "Everyone ready?"

"Arf!"

"GOOD BOY!" said Papyrus. He, Undyne and Asgore grabbed the rope while Frisk scrambled clear. "LUMBERRRRRRR!"

They'd done a good job uprooting the tree, so they weren't pulling at it too long before it began to topple under its own momentum.

_CRASH!_

Silence is always at its most intense after such a noise, but it didn't last long. A continuous chittering of different noises began, and the line between the snow and the other trees began to shimmer.

"They're coming!" yelled Undyne as she and Asgore grabbed two other ropes. "Let's go!"

The fellowship of the tree started back the way they game. Undyne and Asgore taking the lead while dragging their prize, Papyrus holding Frisk close, and the five dogs barking and growling to chase off any critter brave enough to try and nibble at the invaders. Sometimes a fox joined the assault, but after one of the dogs woofed and howled in a sophisticated manner, they switched sides. But as though an unseen princess had sung the intruders' requiem, the animals wouldn't stop coming. And their attrition was having an affect.

"Lessy!" shouted Undyne. "Don't wander off!"

"Whine..."

The stalemate continued for a half hour, but the discipline continued to deteriorate. Papyrus had to swing a few bones around to chase off some birds as the dogs grew increasingly distracted. Frisk called someone on their phone again.

"Doggo," called Asgore, "stay with us!"

"But sir..." he struggled, "...Captain... they're... they're... _SQUIRRELS!_ "

The word broke all restraint. In an unorganised pack the five dogs chased after the last wave, quickly disappearing into the darkening woods, leaving their charge completely exposed. The barks and the chittering quickly subsided, but all knew that wouldn't last.

"Keep going!" Undyne yanked on her rope. "Maybe if we make enough ground they'll lose us!"

" _Tweet tweet!_ " disagreed a small flock of beautiful robins, who immediately started swarming at Undyne's head.

"Ngah! Bunch of stupid Berdly jerks!" She conjured a spear to swat them back. Asgore was using his hands to keep chipmunks at bay as well, but not daring use fire magic. But nobody could then keep pulling the tree.

"CATASTROPHE!" cried Papyrus. "WE'LL NEVER GET HOME AT THIS RATE. SANS WILL MAKE A REALLY HORRIBLE JOKE ABOUT OUR FAILURE."

"No he won't," said Frisk softly, "Plan B is ready."

"IT IS? CAPITAL!" He summoned enough bones to pin a stag that was looking ready to charge. "UNDYNE, MAJESTY, PLAN B!"

"Are you sure?" asked Asgore.

"IT'S THAT OR FREEZE OUT HERE!"

The tree shimmered blue. Papyrus was levitating it, maneuvering it into an angle with the ground as Asgore and Undyne got behind it. Still on the phone, Frisk was relaying adjustments.

"Up more... more... two more degrees... to the left... too far, right... down slightly... that's it!"

"THAT'S IT!"

"That's..." large fluffy muscles and slender scaly muscles did a synchronised maneuver. "It. **_HUAAAGH!!!_** "

Part physical exertion, part magical force, Undyne and Asgore had pushed the tree from its roots, sending it soaring into the air like the javelin of a giant, quickly vanishing from sight in the darkening sky.

"Now," said Asgore, trying to calm a squirrel attempting to nibble at his heel, "it's a matter of getting out of the forest."

"Pap, you got Frisk?" A calcified nod. "Good. Hold on, Fluffybuns!"

"Hold on to what- _Woah!_ G-golly!"

With the effort of picking up a piece of paper, Asgore found himself lifted high over Undyne, who then started dashing through the woods along their own earlier footprints, the menagerie in pursuit of them slowly shrinking as she outpaced them with no problem. Every time Asgore looked back it appeared that Papyrus and Frisk were falling behind, and yet when he looked again he'd somehow made up the ground, so the four were moving at high speed towards the main road. The cry of nature didn't let itself be forgotten until they actually reached that road, where Papyrus summoned a barrier of bones that Undyne reinforced with spears.

"Phew," she panted, "that was fun as hell! I'm gonna make that part of Royal Guard training. Along with _discipline_." She spat the last word in the approximate direction of the deserters.

"Oh they'll be fine, Undyne," said Asgore, "I know they played in Snowdin at all hours. Well, shall we see if Plan B paid off?"

It had. By the time the four of them reached town and the central park, Toriel was busy adjusting the still blue-shimmered tree into a whole that a small white dog had built for her, while Sans kept it from toppling over. Asriel and several other children guarded the box of decorations. Only when she was satisfied at the tree's firm position and allowed the dog to start filling the hole did she look around.

"There you are!" She advanced on the four of them and seized Frisk to arms them up, a gesture Asgore copied on his two remaining companions. "When Sans mentioned we were using Plan B I was so worried."

"NO NEED TO FRET, QUEEN TORIEL," said Papyrus, "NO HARM WOULD COME TO MY FRIENDS WHILE THERE IS BREATH IN MY BODY."

Toriel allowed the anatomical questions of that expression to pass by. "...thank you, Papyrus. Now, before we decorate the tree together I have prepared some warm desert for the brave tree fetchers. Where are the others?"

"They... got distracted," said Asgore diplomatically. "Leave a pie for them, I'm sure they'll notice the smell."

"From the middle of a forest full of critters to chase down?" asked Undyne.

"You don't know Tori's cooking," he chortled.

**Author's Note:**

> Original suggestion: Undyne, Asgore, Papyrus and Frisk are tasked by the rest of the gang to cut down a Christmas tree. They venture deep into the forest and when they find a nice tree and start cutting it down, they get jumped on by disgruntled and belligerent wildlife. Hilarity and hasty escape ensues
> 
> Let me know what you think, and thanks for reading!


End file.
